Harvesting a Bumper Crop of Vocabulary

Hello and happy harvest season. Educators know that vocabulary develops not only through dedicated lessons but also through reading, and thoughtfully chosen daily language. Expand vocabulary by using new words and synonyms for known concepts in discussions at home and school. Add that to wide reading and word study, including morphology lessons, and new vocabulary will take root, eventually leading to a plentiful harvest.  Persist in this and over time a bumper crop will surely manifest in speech and writing and —even better — in understanding. It doesn’t happen overnight. Vocabulary is a growth construct, developing  across the years, and hopefully never quite coming to an end.

As a little holiday bonus, check out this fun video. It’s bound to appeal! Compliments of Elle Cordova, The Grammarian. 

 

Cheers,

Susan

A Little Word Play

Hello out there. Here’s an idea for those few extra moments in the classroom. It’s a quick verbal exercise for elementary and secondary grades. Engage free thinking to seek connections across words. Generate streams of morphological word families. Morphological reasoning is a Metalinguistic Activity.

Pandemic. Epidemic. Hyperglutaminemic. Endemic.  

What’s the common element across these words? What is —emic all about in these words? What is -emic telling us? Something pertaining to health, a medical term.

 

Perhaps that line of reasoning leads to another morphological stream, for pan.

Pandemic, pandemonium, panacea, panoramic. What’s common? What is pan telling us? As a Greek word-forming element, pan means ‘all’ — in simplistic terms. Look here at Etymonline. Or go here.

And what about that naughty Pandora? How does she fit in? Or how about Pangaea?

Free thinking exercises take only moments in the classroom. Use that free minute to good effect. Make it quick and meta-interesting! Cogitate. Bring word relationships up to the surface of the mind. Stir up the waters. Take a dive, make a quick splash.  It need not be a full lesson in morphology or vocabulary. A little bit of word streaming goes a long way in terms of word consciousness and metalinguistic awareness.

We want kids to make connections when they encounter an unknown word on the street. Or — fingers crossed — in a book.

Even younger students can get into the act.  Make it a fun physical game. Perhaps begin with the timely word thank and toss a nerf ball to a child, who might respond with “Thanksgiving.” 

What else comes to mind?  Someone might shout  “thankful” —  tossing the ball to another. The game goes on. 

Or try snow. Snowflake. Snowstorm. What else?

If someone shouts out a word that perhaps doesn’t seem to exist, that’s cool. Reward for creativity! Make it a word in your classroom. Example:

Zuri, feeling metaphorical, says “snowbites!”  When prompted, she explains, “It’s when, like, when icy snowflakes blow in the wind. It feels like little bites or bee stings on my face.” (Yup. That’s a real deal.)

Owen responds to Zuri with a more concrete notion. He says, “Snowbites could mean eating snow, like when my little brother took a bite yesterday!” (Leaving aside the pros and cons of eating snow.)

Could Zuri’s word have two meanings? Sure, why not! That’s polysemy. It’s a common occurrence in language.

No wrong answers. Only associations. Only the fun of finding relationships, making connections.

Need help thinking of words? Check out the many morphology websites online. Some are listed in the Vocabulogic blog footer. Or start at Reading Rockets. They’ve posted a handy list of affixes and roots / morphemes. 

Looking ahead, think of words connected with seasonal festivities. For one holiday idea, go to Vocabulary.com’s Wordshop. Check out the word play in Happy versus Merry.

Bye for now. Best Wishes and Peace on Earth to all.

PS. After 20 years in print and two editions, my morphology curriculum Vocabulary Through Morphemes is no longer available, except a few copies at Amazon. Maybe this type of blog post will help fill the gap. Or contact me if you want to buy it directly from me in some format.  smebbers@gmail.com  

Update: Silvereye Learning Resources will be publishing a new 3rd edition of Vocabulary Through Morphemes. More to come on that in future months.

PPS. Happy news. My publisher Voyager Sopris just produced a second edition of my interactive beginner reading series, 28 Power Readers and 37 Supercharged Readers.  Sixty-five books, in color! The Supercharged Readers series in particular has a greater focus on morphology, including five new advanced books with multiple chapters.

Video: The Joy of Lexicography (Erin McKean)

In the most recent post, I discussed the minimal reference to studying etymology allocated by the Common Core State Standards, and I attempted to make a case for spending some time on little word histories anyway, regardless of the Standards.

Today, a related topic -- lexicography.  Courtesy of TED Talks, I am excited to share Dr. Erin McKean's entertaining yet educational presentation on the nature of words, dictionaries, and lexicography, in general. This video lasts about 15 minutes, but it felt like 5, at least for me. Lots of laughter and jolly good word fun. Published in 2007, it's like a good book--even better the second time.

In the video below, Erin makes the case that a paper dictionary limits the amount of words that can "fit in the pan" (the book). She argues that in a digital environment there is no limit to the number of words that could fit. So, if not spatial constraints, why should a word be included in a dictionary? According to Erin, because we LOVE and USE the word. In The Joy of Lexicography, she says:

People say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anybody who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it. That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction. It doesn't make a word any more real than any other way. If you love a word, it becomes real.

Applications for older students: The video is suitable for older students. Teachers could share it when discussing the limitations of a paper dictionary, the rise of new media,  the legitimacy of words, the joy of word play and creative expression, etc.

Jamie's Journey: The Savannah (Ebbers)

Applications for younger children: Encourage children to invent new words, and let them know that you are interested in the words they use, whether new or old. One way to encourage word coinage is by reading the chapter book Frindle. (I'm calling my pen a "frindle" by gum, no matter what  the dictionary says!) Frindle is best suited for grades 4-5. Likewise, for grades K-3, in Jamie's Journey: The Savannah, I use the word dreamer in an unusual way. (Image text: "With his mat on his back and his dreamer unfurled, Jamie journeys through town to the end of the world.") This word lends itself to questions like "What is our dreamer, where is our dreamer, and how important is it, to have a dreamer?

Why bother? Word coinage and discussions about the dictionary encourage metalinguistic awareness, which in turn fosters comprehension. Also, word coinage is one aspect of word consciousness, one of the four components of a robust vocabulary program (Graves, 2006). This type of instruction is important for a number of reasons, including motivational and metacognitive aspects of learning to read, write, and otherwise express ourselves.

Courtesy of TED Talks, Erin McKean, The Joy of Lexicography (~15 minutes).

(Give the video a moment to load, or see it directly at this link.)

Erin McKean, lexicographer, is the CEO and inspirational force behind one of my favorite new and interactive dictionaries, Wordnik. This digital dictionary provides examples of contextualized word usage from Twitter, etc., word images from Flickr, and all the basic stuff a traditional dictionary offers. In addition, Wordnik encourages us (students, too) to contribute new words and new uses for old words.

Caution: A reader recently advised caution when sending students to the Wordnik site. Depending on the word -- in her case, explicit -- Wordnik may yield inappropriate images and quotations.

The Underestimated Verb and Morphological Reasoning

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I discuss verbs, including the verb-forming suffixes -ize, -ify, -ate,and -en, the verb-forming prefixes be-,  en-/em- and sometimes de-, and verbs that started life as a noun and underwent grammatical shift, as in table/ to table. 

In a Web search, I found that Amazon can "betterize" their recommendations, someone “argufied somethin’ fierce,” and someone else is "preparing to speechify." The Exploratorium addresses the psychology behind how to cute-ify any creature, simply by making the eyes bigger, the body plump or fluffy, etc.

Action verbs advance the plot, in life and in literature. Only the verb can stand alone as a complete sentence: "Go!" But verbs can be the very devil. In each instance below, the verb went awry:

• “How do you know if you don’t measure if you have a system that simply suckles kids through?”
•  “You know, this issue doesn’t seem to resignate with the people.”
• “They have misunderestimated me.”

(Bushisms, Weisberg, 2001)

How many English words are verbs? While nouns and adjectives make up 75% of the words in the English language, verbs only account for about 14%, according to Oxford Dictionaries.com (estimates only, based on main entry words).

However, this estimate does not take into account words with senses for different word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.). For example, snowplow is tallied as a noun, but it could also be tallied as a verb: “I will snowplow the driveway.” Thus, the estimate of 14%, or only 1 in 7 words, must be quite low, because converting a noun into a verb is fairly common in English (not necessarily true in every language).

The business of transforming a noun into a verb goes by many names: verbing, verbification, morphological conversion, grammatical shift, functional shift, zero-derivation, etc. Whatever we call it, one thing is certain: It provides for a great deal of versatility and flexibility of expression. If Oxford’s tally of verbs included multiple senses for each given main entry, the number of verbs in the English language would rise, significantly. 

And even though it is possible to convert words across grammatical categories, as from an adjective (green) into a noun (the putting green), verbing is by far the most common type of grammatical shift.

In “You’ve Been Verbed” Anthony Gardner writes: “Mothers and fathers used to bring up children: now they parent. Critics used to review plays: now they critique them. Athletes podium, executives flipchart, and almost everybody Googles. Watch out—you’ve been verbed.” (Update: Also see 10-27-2012 NYT post by Dr. Helen Sword, Mutant Verbs).

Nonetheless, there is some logic to the pie graph pictured above, despite the missing grammatical conversions. It is not surprising that nouns and adjectives outnumber verbs. We can apply one verb to a slew of nouns. For example, the possibilities are endless with the verb fix. Theoretically, we can "fix" any noun that exists!

How does morphology help us understand verbs?

Source: Vocabulary Through Morphemes (Ebbers)

Sentence order helps us understand grammatical function. In addition to sentence order, suffixes--and some prefixes--provide syntactic information. For example, words that end with –ize tend to be verbs, as in verbalize. Words that end with –ion tend to be abstract nouns, as in education and television. Words that end with –ic tend to be adjectives, as in exotic, heroic. The chart shows derivations of drama, formed by adding various suffixes. Read more about derivational suffixes.

When there is no verb-forming suffix, for example when the noun table is transformed to a verb, "Let's table the discussion" we must rely on sentence order to determine word class. Read more about words with multiple meanings, including suffix-less zero-derivations).

How is a verb formed, morphologically? A verb could be a morphologically simple word, with only one morpheme: run, eat, sleep. It could be morphologically complex, composed of more than one morpheme. This includes compound words that are verbs: downsize, whitewash, kickbox. A handful of derivational suffixes create verbs. I list them below.

• -ate, as in evaporate, calculate, demonstrate (more words)
• -ize, as in analyze, revitalize, theorize (more words)
• -ise (the British spelling for –ize) as in exercise
• -ify, as in justify, oversimplify, pacify, electrify (more from Word Detector)
• -en, as in moisten, sharpen, shorten (but not earthen, silken, etc.)
  

Prefixes can form verbs, too. The prefix en- creates verbs like endanger, enjoy, endear. This prefix is also spelled em-, as in embody, empower (see post on assimilated prefixes). Adding the prefix be- transforms a noun to a verb, as in befriend, bewitch, besiege. The prefix de- sometimes forms verbs, as in derail, defrost, and dethrone.

Reading research, morphological insight, and verbs: Researchers use contextualized (and sometimes isolated) invented words that contain real derivational suffixes to see whether or not older children (and adults) understand, even just subconsciously, how the derivational suffix indicates grammatical category. I have used the same process in my dissertation work, using real words and also invented words. Two examples from my test wordPLAY are shown below:

Can the rain ___?   vapor         vaporize      vapors         vaporizing 

We will ____ it.       borkize       borkous      borkment      borkly

Researchers have consistently found that poor morphological insight explains poor vocabulary knowledge: After all the other usual suspects have been accounted for, there is still a difference between students of high versus low vocabulary, and that remaining difference is partially explained when we factor in morphological knowledge. This difference begins in the primary grades and continues through high school and college for some students (e.g., Berninger et al. 2010; Carlisle, 2000; 2010; McBride-Chang et al., 2005, etc.; Singson, Mahony, & Mann, 2000, etc.).

What should students do? Learn words? YES! But also, learn ABOUT words--how they work, how they are formed, how to play around with them. And READ. And TALK. Absorb words, and their patterns. 

That's all. It's summer, almost. It's Sunday, spot on. Why not go outside and verb?

PS. Read more about the suffix -ify in Don't Be Iffy on -ify and see the worksheet that goes with it. Also see Teaching Verbs and Confronting the Skunk, by Georgia Scurletis, at Visual Thesuaurs.

References

Punny Books and Wordy Reads, for Kids of All Ages

I offer up a sampling from my book collection. These books might nurture interest in various aspects of language and accelerate lexipensity. Titles are listed in order, from simplistic to advanced. Enjoy!

PICTURE BOOKS

Sunshine, Moonshine, by Jennifer Armstrong. A lovely rhyming picture book, suitable for preK to 2. Use this book to develop awareness of compound words, especially how they once started as separate words. After reading and discussing the book, the class might brainstorm compounds that contain sun: sunflower, suntan, sunglasses, etc. (Another picture book for developing awareness of how compounds work is Once There Was a Bull ... (frog): Adventures in Compound Words, by Rick Walton.)  

The Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown.  This picture book does not tell a story, it asks a question, prompting the reader to drill down to the heart of a thing. The author asks, "What is the most important thing about rain?" (let children brainstorm at this point). Then she provides a list of things that describe rain (characteristics and attributes are academic words teachers might eventually include in the class discussion). She arrives at the conclusion, "The most important thing about rain is that it is wet" (allow the class to debate this).  Another question: What is the most important thing about a spoon?"  Finally, my favorite, "What is the most important thing about YOU?" (Students could make a poster describing themselves or a fellow student, focusing on their most important trait.)

In Philosophy Now, Professor Thomas Wartenberg explains how to use picture books to help children reason. In the post, Picture Book Philosophy, he discusses several books that suit this goal. In the following excerpt, he refers to The Important Book:

I am repeatedly amazed by what children are able to accomplish in a philosophical discussion. I am often struck by how the children make claims that remind me of ideas I learned only after years of reading and thinking about philosophy. For example, consider The Important Book (1990) by Margaret Wise Brown. For each of a number of things, such as grass, an apple, rain, a spoon, and you, the book says that something is the important thing about it. It also lists a number of other things that the object also is. The important thing about rain, for example, is that it is wet; its other properties are falling from the sky, sounding like rain, making things shiny, and not tasting like anything. When a group of eight-year-olds were discussing the book, they were very dissatisfied with that list. They proposed a list of their own, which included: It makes puddles and ponds; it splashes; it can evaporate; and it makes mud. But the children decided that they thought the most important thing about rain was that it makes things grow.

Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Differences, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Wilbur. It's pocket-sized with b/w line art, and clever verse. Hard to find and out of print. (Update: It's now available in ebook format!)

An excerpt:

What is the opposite of riot? 

It's lots of people, keeping quiet.

The Unbreakable Code, by Sara Hoagland Hunter. This beautifully illustrated picture book is suitable for grades 4-6. A Navajo Code Talker tells his grandson about the famous code created by the Navajos, Comanches, and Hopis during World War II. The Japanese were not able to decipher any intercepted messages. Below are several examples of how native words were used in isolation or in combination to create the code:

• paahu + kiihu = houses (on) water = paaki = ships
• a/tsá  = eagle =  transport plane
• béésh +  loo´ = metal fish = submarine

Charles Chibitty, a Comanche Code Talker, describes how the codeword for army tank was invented, after seeing a picture of a tank (source: The National Museum of the American Indian):

Well, when they first got us in there for Code Talkers, we had to work that out among our own selves, so we didn’t have a word for tank. And the one said it’s like a [Comanche words] he said, it’s just like a turtle, you know. It has a hard shell and it moves, and so we called it a wakaree´e, a turtle.

CHAPTER BOOKS

Donavan's Word Jar, by MonaLisa DeGross. In this short chapter book, a third grader collects interesting words and stores them in a glass jar. His classmates think he's a word nerd, but in the end, he (Donavan) saves the day and everyone wants to collect words, too. Some teachers read this book at the beginning of the term, presenting the class with an empty jar. Throughout the year, students insert words, written on colorful strips of paper, finishing the year with a celebration of words and language.



A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (actually, anything by Lemony Snicket). This author does not assume that readers understand idiomatic expressions, and includes the definition in the narrative, but in a conversational tone that does not seem like a distraction or an intrusion. This is exemplified in the excerpt below, from The Carnivorous Carnival:

But I always insist that the most frightening part of any beast is its belly, for the simple reason that if you are seeing the belly of the beast it means you have already seen the teeth of the beast and the claws of the beast and even the hair of the beast, and now you are trapped and there is probably no hope for you. For this reason, the phrase "in the belly of the beast" has become an expression which means "inside some terrible place with little chance of escaping safely," and it is not an expression one should look forward to using.

  
Frindle, by Andrew Clements. I cannot say enough about this chapter book, so I won't. Go get it. Read it for your own enjoyment. Read it with the class. Applicable to grades 4-12, but especially best for grades 4-6. This book has a fast-paced and highly relevant plot; the focus is on free speech, word coinage, the dictionary, etymology, and entrepreneurship.

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, now celebrating its 50th birthday, and considered to be the Alice in Wonderland of American literature.  Like Alice, this book is quite advanced and best swallowed in small doses; it requires strong verbal reasoning and extensive prior knowledge, including knowledge of idiomatic expressions.

Rather than going down the rabbit hole, Milo, a bored young adolescent, takes a trip through a magical tollbooth into a fantastical wonderland. Juster makes good fun with idioms, as when Milo JUMPS to the island of CONCLUSIONS. In this allegory, well known phrases are served tongue-in-cheek, and life lessons are couched as whimsical words of wisdom. Throughout, the relative merits of numbers and letters are debated, arriving at a happy-ever-after when both Rhyme and Reason finally prevail together, and the Kingdom is restored to sanity.  Read more at The New Yorker.

ACADEMIC BOOKS

A Little Book of Language, by David Crystal (book summary). Even though the author seems to be addressing an older adolescent, I learned a lot about how human language came to be, the components of language, and the sociocultural aspects of language. A delightful read, with a conversational style, and each chapter is only a few pages.

The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way, by Bill Bryson. In typical  style, Bill Bryson serves up history and comedy, in narrative sauce. My own interest in word origins was secured with the first chapter of this book, the first book I read on this topic. Bryson might be off about some stuff, but he makes up for it in humor.

The Pun Also Rises, by John Pollack. This new book describes "How the humble pun revolutionized language, changed history, and made WORDPLAY more than SOME ANTICS." Need I say more? For more about this book, and the punny author, visit The Morning News.

 

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, by Simon Winchester. A novel, based in fact, describing how a medical doctor, disturbed by the horrors of the Civil War, winds up in England, incarcerated. From the lunatic asylum, he answers Oxford's nationwide appeal to "men of letters" to help find specific words contextualized in published texts, thus occupying himself by locating thousands of the word quotations used in The Oxford English Dictionary, first edition. I read this book from cover to cover, with amazement at times. Not for children--some disturbing and graphic scenes.



That's all for now. I'll save the rest for another day. Drop a comment if I have missed a favorite of yours!

Best,
Susan

Word Games to Target the Five Language Components (Cavanaugh)

This post was contributed by Christie L. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. Christie has also written two prior posts describing thematic language centers for preschool, and language facilitation strategies. See  Part 1 here and Part 2 here, along with Christie's bio.

To help my early childhood students deepen their ability to make connections between language and literacy, I gathered a variety of familiar games that reinforce these links. Each game illustrates at least one of the five components of language: phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics in oral and/or written form. Furthermore, I added the role of background knowledge. We need background knowledge to successfully play many word games and, at the same time, playing these games contributes to the development of background knowledge.

The research base to support the use of games to build the links between language and literacy draw from a large knowledge base about the interaction between language and literacy development, but also from what we know about the features of effective instruction, particularly multiple opportunities to practice and time on task, and building motivation through increased social interaction among students related to reading for students who struggle academically (Guthrie & Davis, 2003; Guthrie & Humenick, 2004). There have been some studies that have used games as a strategy for building vocabulary for English Language Learners (Townsend, 2009), but little exists that explore the value of using games to address all language components and the connection to literacy.

The five language components:

• Phonology relates to the sounds of a language and how they are combined to form words and phrases. Phonology impacts meaning in the sense that two words may vary only by one phoneme (individual speech sound) but have very different meaning (for example, consider church and chirp). 
• Morphology relates to word structure through units of meaning (morphemes). Free morphemes are freestanding units of meaning--words like pillow and learn. Bound morphemes are units of meaning that are attached to free morphemes, like the suffix -s in pillows and the prefix re- in relearn.  Morphology influences phonics, semantics/vocabulary and syntax. 
• Semantics is knowledge of word meanings for specific words, categories, and context to determine meaning or to select the appropriate word to convey a thought or idea. In addition to morphology, vocabulary knowledge relies on the components of phonology and semantics. 
• Syntax relates to the rules that govern word order in phrases and sentences and this area influences comprehension of oral and written language. 
• Pragmatics deals with use of language and the knowledge of the functions of various forms of language—knowing when to use a word or expression for a particular purpose and in a particular social setting (Owens, 2008).

There is much interaction between the five language components. When students experience strength in one or more area their strengths influence other components. The converse is also true: If students experience difficulty with one language component, they are likely to also experience difficulty with at least one other component. In order to identify needs and plan lessons accordingly, teachers must understand the connections between language and literacy development.

Teachers also need to recognize how particular games can address students’ needs and how to adapt games to meet specific goals. Modifications require careful planning. An easy and perhaps necessary modification for classroom use would be to transform game responses, from oral to written. Because many games have a timing component, automaticity of recall is also emphasized. Click here to download a chart listing 13 word games with language components identified.  One of the games listed on the chart, Mad Gab, is especially useful for developing phonological awareness, but it also reinforces background knowledge and vocabulary. To learn more, Play MadGab Online. Below, I elaborate on five of the games listed on the chart.

Balderdash (Gameworks Creations, 1984) is a game that targets vocabulary and the skill to define words. Players generate definitions of words, mostly unknown and obscure words, and vote on the one that represents the correct definition (players’ versions are presented along with the real definition). All language components are addressed through playing Balderdash, particularly semantics, syntax, and morphology. Knowledge in these areas allows players to create believable definitions through recognition of morphemes, possible part of speech, and of course, meaning. Pragmatics is addressed because players can also identify how a word might be used as part of the definition, and for bluffing.

Buzzword (Patch Products, 2003) is a game about phrases, terms, or places that are grouped according to a common word. Players use clues to encourage team members to identify the phrase that reflects the meaning of the provided clue, but also contains the “buzz word” or common word contained in all phrases. Teams have 45 seconds to guess all 10 phrases. For example, the buzzword apple appears in phrases for clues such as “the object of my affection, the all-American dessert, lump in a man’s throat, etc.” This game addresses semantics and pragmatics (particularly for understanding when phrases or terms are used) and builds background knowledge.

Funglish (Hasbro, 2009) is a game that targets vocabulary and involves providing clues and guessing. Players use attributes or adjectives to display and indicate whether the item to guess (person, place, or thing) is “definitely,” “kind of,” or “not” like the adjectives displayed. (The use of these clue categories is reminiscent of the use of certain vocabulary graphic organizers such as a 4-square word map). For example, the target word may be carrot, so players might display these words for “definitely:” orange, crunchy, edible, solid; “kind of:” good, sweet, straight; and “not:” stripy, liquid, or fragile. Players can place as many clues on the board as it takes for others to guess the target. Guessers can prompt the clue-giver to place additional adjectives by asking, “What color is it?” This game addresses semantics and syntax, but also taps into morphology and phonology, both of which are particularly important as English language learners build vocabulary.

Hink Pink (Discovery Bay Games, 2008) is a game of riddles and rhymes, so of course, addresses phonology, semantics, morphology, and syntax. Players read descriptions or definitions for word pairs that rhyme. A one-syllable word pair is labeled as a “Hink Pink,” 2-syllable pair, “Hinky Pinky,” and 3-syllable pair, “Hinkity Pinkity.” One example of a clue for a hinkity pinkity is “lying in court about a medical operation” with the correct response surgery perjury. Background knowledge is also activated.

Orijinz (Entspire, 2007) is game of word and phrase origins. Players read origins and definition clues on cards for players to guess the word or phrase, many of which are idiomatic expressions. This game addresses semantics, syntax, and pragmatics (to understand when to use the expressions) while also targeting morphology (etymology in particular with references to base words in other languages) building background knowledge with historical information about the origins of expressions—some more common than others. This game applies to pre-service teachers, but also to elementary through high school students.

Do you have a favorite game that reinforces language and literacy? Let us know. Meanwhile, enjoy!

Christie

References

• Guthrie, J. T., & Davis, M. H. (2003). Motivating struggling readers in middle school through an engagement model of classroom practice. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19(1), 59-85. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
• Guthrie, J. T., & Humenick, N. M. (2004). Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase reading motivation and achievement. In P. McCardle&V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 329–354). Baltimore: Brookes.
• Owens, R. E. (2008). Language development: An introduction (7th Ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Townsend, D. (2009). Building academic vocabulary in after-school settings: Games for growth with middle school English-language learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(3), 242-251.

Treated to Language (with video)

If language is valued by the teacher, students know it. They sense that the teacher is unusually aware of words -- otherwise overlooked, as water streaming continuously away. Their teacher treats language like a fabulous dessert, greeting especially scrumptious expressions with delight.  It is possible for educators to ignite an interest in words and phrases that is almost tangible.

This type of teaching behavior is situated within the four-ply framework for  effective vocabulary programs, proposed by Michael Graves (2006). Creating a love for language falls under the first component: Providing rich and varied language experiences. It also falls under the fourth component: Developing word consciousness. (See description of the four components.) Helping children and adolescents learn to treasure words does not replace explicit vocabulary instruction, but it is thought to enhance such instruction. Explicit vocabulary instruction is the second instructional component in the framework proposed by Graves.

How can teachers create a love for language, especially for words and phrases? First, take a sincere interest in the words a student uses. For example, one might tell a student, "I'm so glad to hear someone say kaboodle. That word always makes me smile!" This is gratifying -- having someone pay attention to our own words. It is also motivating to realize that our words have the power to make someone smile--to feel, to think, perhaps even to take action. This type of word-power is conveyed in Donavan's Word Jar.

“Also, make a note of the word gobbledygook. I like it. I want to use it more often in conversation” (General Melchett, in the BBC comedy Black Adder).

Another way to convey the power and presence of words is through poetry, as done with deliberation and enthusiasm in an urban school in Florida, briefly described by Niles (2004). Poetry can also provide a way to showcase the playful value of words. (See prior post for resources for teaching poetry.)

Teachers also promote language through song. In one study, Hines (2010) successfully used lyrics as one tool to teach word decoding and word meaning to adolescents with learning disabilities. In similar manner, when I was a middle school teacher, I invited a different pair of students to discuss their selected song lyrics, every other Friday, for about 15 minutes. After ensuring the lyrics were not offensive, I facilitated as needed, encouraging the pair to lead the class in a discussion, explaining why the lyrics were important to them, and which words were most meaningful. The lyrics were printed in advance. The audio track was played.

Some teachers instill a love for language through storytelling and theater, including reader's theater. For instance,  Keehn, Harmon, and Shoho (2008) found that, compared to traditional (mainly definitional) means of teaching vocabulary to eighth graders, a brief theatrical enactment resulted in significantly greater word learning.

Teachers and librarians share a love for words when they read aloud from news clippings, short stories, excerpts and entire books, both fiction and nonfiction, and when they encourage learners to participate in extended discussions. When peer conversations are prompted that focus on a specific segment of text, word-learning is likely to occur, and this is true for native speakers as well as ELLs.

In a language-friendly learning atmosphere, students and teachers do not use words or rules to shame or to punish. Classroom norms can help ensure that words are used responsibly. Denning, Kessler, and Leben (2007, p. 182) stated:

Ultimately, an enhanced and enlarged vocabulary, like any part of the complex phenomenon called language, is a multipurpose tool. Like a hammer, it can be used either to build or to injure. The individual is responsible for the use to which it is put. 

These ideas are neatly captured by Stephen Fry, English author, journalist, and comedian, who holds assorted honorary titles from the University of Dundee, Cambridge University, Anglia Ruskins, etc.  Fry speaks with humor and insight on the splendor of language, arguing against pomposity and pedantry pertaining to rules and words. To hear his entire discussion, titled Language, visit Steven Fry's Podgrams at iTunes (Series 2, Episode 3). Also, visit his blog: The New Adventures of Mr. Steven Fry. This brief film was created by Matthew Rogers; he set a portion of Fry's lecture to words, cleverly creating a kinetic typography.

Enjoy!

Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.

References:

Denning, K., Kessler, B., & Leben, W. (2007). English Vocabulary Elements, second edition. Oxford University Press. 

Graves, M.F. (2006). The vocabulary book: Learning and instruction. New York: Teachers College Press. 

Hines, S. (2010). Name that word: Using song lyrics to improve the decoding skills of adolescents with learning disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(1), 16-21. 

Keehn, S. Harmon, J., & Shoho, A. (2008). A study of readers theater in eighth grade: Issues of fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 24(4), 335-362. 

Nile, S. (2004, April). A celebration of words. Teaching Pre K-8, 4(7), 56-57.

Video: Word Formation Processes

We freely create new words without thinking too much about HOW it's done; we come by it naturally and take a curious delight in it. LOL, we get a fabjammin' kick out of it, all right, and the one with the greatest inpreciation of vocabulogic has the most fun!

This Sunday, I am pleased to publish a brief video discovered on YouTube. The author (PlatanoAmarillo03) is unknown to me, but she may be a linguistics student, a budding morphology expert. She synthesizes information with some humor and panache through the clever use of pictures and moving font types. Fair warning--the pace is quite fast and the voice is not loud, so turn up your speakers and prepare to focus.

PS. The video describes compound words composed of two words. True enough, but compounds can contain more than two words, as in ruby-throated hummingbird and son-in-law. Read more about compounds.

Enjoy!

Blends, Word Play Offs, Sweet Tooth Fairies

Types of Blends
Click to enlarge.
(Gries, 2004)

Slanguage. Spanglish. Vocabulogic. Linguists call these types of words "blends" but they are more like collisions, because two words are smashed together, leaving out at least one letter in the process, merging sounds and meanings.  A blend is also called a portmanteau, a two-sided suitcase, so coined by Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland.  Michael Quinion describes blends more fully at World Wide Words. Examples include brunch (breakfast + lunch) and spam (spiced + ham). The other day, I encouraged a friend to "Enjoy the bruncheon" (thus using an established blend to spontaneously create a new blend). Click the image above to learn about different types of blends, but see my footnote. Read how blends reflect pop culture at the Lewis Carroll Society. 

Like churnalism, many of the neologisms "spied upon" by Paul McFedries are blends, reflecting the fact that blending has become fairly common. Word blending is a morphological process, just another way to create words. I have yet to read a study that measures the ability to construct or deconstruct a blend. Probably of low priority, but something to think about.

Note: A blend is similar to -- but not the same as -- a contraction: isn't, she's, you'll, etc. A blend is like a contraction in that they both involve smashing words together and omitting letters. However, a blend creates a new meaning. For instance, the blend emoticon denotes (and connotes) more than simply emotion + icon. In contrast, a contraction restates the meaning of the two words (wasn't denotes was not). Furthermore, in a contraction an apostrophe is inserted where the missing letter(s) would have been. 

The clever concoction fantabulous, used in the banner below to advertise the philanthropic and free (!!) vocabulary quiz-game Free Rice, is a blend of fantastic and fabulous.
 

Somewhat like a blend, a "sweet tooth fairy" is a new kind of word, created by Graham Hidderley/Burgess (see WordNik and Boston Globe). To create a sweet tooth fairy one combines two concepts (e.g., sweet tooth + tooth fairy). The final word of the first concept must match the first word of the second one. Delete the duplicated word, hence sweet tooth + tooth fairy  >>>  sweet tooth fairy (xy + yz = xyz).

Some popular sweet tooth fairies:
stop sign language
world peace train
magnetic personality disorder
complete chaos theory
social butterfly kisses
false economy size (see comments)

Want to interest students in words and phrases? Add blends and sweet tooth fairies to your fresh bread basket of ideas. Let the class construct and deconstruct them with peers, discussing them, rating their utility and appeal, using them in writing samples. Who knows where it might end! Start a contest, where the most creative inventors go to the word play offs.This is lots of fun should boost verbal proficiency. 

 Learn more about word play in chapter three of The Word Conscious Classroom (Scott, Skobel, & Wells, 2008). Scott et al. suggest that fostering an interest in words is especially promising for learners who are not surrounded with an enriched verbal environment at home. They say: 

An awareness of words, a love of words, and a curiosity about words do not just develop by themselves. Students who can recognize powerful language and use it themselves in their writing have developed this awareness through scaffolding by adults in their lives" (p. 12).

Depending on the skill level, the act of constructing and/or deconstructing a blend should deepen linguistic insight. Over the holiday, why not create a few blends and sweet tooth fairies. Engage in a little verbal volley. Go on, make some jelly bean soup! Be an Easter egg head.


 
Note: There are at least three types of blends and linguists do not always agree on what constitutes a blend, but for the purpose of understanding English words, it should be sufficient to simply identify the words that combine to form the blend and discuss the new meaning created by the blend.


REFERENCES 

• Aronoff, M., & Fudeman, K. (2005). What is morphology? Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.  
  
• Gries, Stefan Th. (2004) Some characteristics of English morphological blends. Andronis, Mary A., Erin Debenport, Anne Pycha, Keiko Yoshimura, eds. Papers from the 38th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society: Vol. II. The Panels. Chicago, IL: Chicago Linguistics Society, 201-216.
• Scott, J., Skobel, B., & Wells, J. (2008). The word-conscious classroom: Building the vocabulary readers and writers need. New York: Scholastic - Theory into Practice Series.  

Analogize This! (videos)

When life throws something extraordinary at us, we invent a new word to express our amazement and awe. Today brought several new words describing a snowstorm. Meteorologists went wacko. On Sunday we can expect to hear more newly minted words describing the Super Bowl and the soaring achievements of the Who Dat Nation. Ever notice how creatively sportscasters and meteorologists craft words? Do students realize that word wizardry may help them get a job in these fields? 

Even heads of state have been known to coin a cool one. According to the Washington Post (hyperlink defunct), President Obama described DC's storm as Snowmageddon (but see comment, crediting a meteorologist in Duluth). In order to understand Obama, we must have prior knowledge of the Biblical term Armageddon, of Hebrew origin. It's a battleplace and also the final battle between good and evil.

When we analogize we find points of comparison between things that are otherwise dissimilar. We draw an analogy, mentally moving from the known concepts snow and Armageddon to understand the unknown Snowmageddon. Again, we can only draw this analogy if we know a bit about Armageddon and snowstorms. Background knowledge is critically important.

Another cool weather word is Snowpocalypse, seen in the title of a viral video with crazy meteorologist, Jim Kosek. 



Like Armageddon, the Apocalypse refers to Biblical end times, but it is of Greek origin. Apocalypse also refers to nuclear war, signaling devastation, destruction, doom. Here again, background knowledge is essential yet taken for granted--the wordcrafter assumed that everyone would understand apocalypse--probably a safe bet for many of us. Movie titles include Apocalypse Now, Apocalypse How and Apocalypse Cow (no joke) and let's not forget the apocalyptic film 2012. Teachers can help students draw an analogy from the known concepts snow and Apocalypse to understand the new concept Snowpocalypse. Critical thinking skills are at work when we analogize. By thinking aloud, teachers can transparently demonstrate how to draw an analogy. "Hmm...I don't know this word, but this part makes me think of...."

Encourage students to notice new words (neologisms) in film, books, websites, etc. Prompt students to invent words. Kindle interest. Awaken awareness. Inspire word consciousness, which should eventually promote vocabulary and comprehension (Graves, 2006; Nagy, 2007). Maintain a lighthearted yet explicit tone. Motivate. Get expressive! Prompt students to use words and gestures emphatically. In the video above, meteorologist Jim Kosek serves as a model for over-the-top drama as he theatrically gets his point across. Note the quote, "Yeah, I've been reading the dictionary."

Finally, many children in warmer climes have never experienced snow. They tend to be children of poverty, rarely traveling far from home. Optimally, a field trip is best. Alternatively, use the rich resources of the web to build knowledge; digital clips potentially pack a lot into two-minutes. Show the class the snowball fight, below. Afterward, engage in rich discussion and read Keats' 1963 Caldecott Winner, The Snowy Day. Create a word web, graphically connecting related concepts: snow, snowflake, snowstorm, snowball, snowball fight, snowplow, snowman, snow angel, weather, blizzard, storm, precipitation, frosty, silver, crystalline, symmetrical, cold, shovel, scrape, sculpt, etc. Use the semantic map as a prompt for peer discussion and a scaffold for writing.

That's all, folks. Stay safe in the snow. Go Saints!


References

Graves, M.F. (2006). The vocabulary book: Learning and instruction. New York: Teachers College Press.

Nagy, W.E. (2007). Metalinguistic awareness and the vocabulary-comprehension connection. In R.K. Wagner, A.E Muse, & K.R. Tannenbaum (Eds.),Vocabulary acquisition: Implications for reading comprehension (pp. 52-77).New York: Guilford Press.

Metalinguistic Awareness: Alliteration (video)

Metalinguistic awareness includes awareness of language at the level of the sound, the letter, the word, the phrase, the sentence, and the passage. Furthermore, metalinguistic awareness includes sensitivity to alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc. Time spent becoming aware of these literary devices should theoretically contribute to interest in words, which in turn should promote vocabulary knowledge and ultimately, comprehension.There is not yet sufficient research to make this claim empirically, but the theory is sound (Nagy, 2007). 

Alliteration occurs when the beginning of each stressed syllable has the same sound (spelling may differ; it's the sound that matters). Remember Dragnet? Favored friends, in this flick Friday the fabled felon-finder fabricates fabulous phonemic fun with the famed Johnny Carson, speaking in fine form with a fairly unfathomable face. I found felicity in this fantastic phonfest. To watch the clip, go directly to MetaCafe: Copper Clappers.


Share the video with the class. Explicate the meaning of the passage and the alliterative words. Encourage students to work in pairs to write their own alliterative dialogue, sentences, or phrases. Verbalize. Let the room resound with the sounds of speech. With adjustment, this type of lesson applies across grades and content. Imagine an alliterative dialogue about Danny the Dinosaur, the signing of the Magna Carta, or the life cycle of a butterfly. 

As in everything, help the learner make connections across and within words and ideas. Example from video: Discuss how clappers, the swinging pendulum inside a bell, relates to the action of clapping hands. Making lexical links should help the learner own the word and develop vocabulogic. Discuss the word cop, slang for 'to steal' and link it to related phrases: to cop a plea, a cop out. Discuss what slang is, and how it is used.

Also visit World News: Alliteration. Or look up Peter Piper, picking pickles by the peck, and Sally, selling seashells at the seashore.

Enjoy the ever-exciting end of the year! (Vocalic alliteration begins with a vowel sound.) Got some alliteration? Please share!

Holiday Hodgepodge

Greetings! Hodgepodge served here, a savory seasonal mix. Hodgepodge is an alteration of Middle English hochepot, from an Old French word for 'stew' (American Heritage Dictionary).

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Ever wonder about the meaning and etymology of nowell? With this word, we see how Latin, French, and English intermix within a family of words, and how spelling can deviate from the root. Click image to enlarge or print.

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Cashmas is coming! Consider the logic behind this slang term, quoted from the interactive but unofficial Urban Dictionary (beware, some content not suitable for school). "Cashmas is a celebration of materialism in which its celebrants attempt to flatter or impress relatives, friends, and acquaintances with the extent of their purchasing power." When last checked, approval ratings for this term were 1020 thumbs up, 427 down. Having students rate novel words in similar fashion should build word consciousness, resulting in vocabulary growth.

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Dickens is in the public domain. Visit Gutenberg.org to read A Christmas Carol, no charge. Visit Librivox.org to listen to the audio version, no charge. Hundreds more titles and authors are available. As educators, we can share these links with families and use them in schools. Prompt wide reading and active listening to expand word and world knowledge, something poor children typically lack (Biemiller, last post; Hart & Risley, 1995).

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Now, lest Dickens sic his spirits on us, let’s make merry! Bring on the figgy pudding (aka plum pudding, plum porridge, Christmas pudding, steamed pudding). Joyeux Noel!

Seasonal Word Reasoning (poll)

Readers beware! Here be invented words on several topics, created for budding vocabulogicians. Verbiventing is a great way to develop word logic in children and adolescents. Invent words. Interpret other's inventions. Grow in word sense.

1) Naming the season: Whether we call it harvest, autumn, or fall, it's the most brightific season of all! Could the term fall simply refer to falling leaves? Yes. Fall was originally “fall of the leaf.” For example, in 1545 Ascham wrote “Spring tyme, Somer, faule of the leafe, and winter” (OED online). A century later, the truncated form 'fall' was used. Today, the term ‘fall’ for autumn is commonly used in America but rarely in Great Britain. 

 

2) Food! Wishing you pantries plenished and replenished with abundant nourishments! Sadly, PBS reports that 1 in 7 American households have insufficient eatings. At present, words like starvation and famished are not frequently used to describe Americans, but poverty exists. Related books: The Glass Castle (Walls), Angela’s Ashes (McCourt).

Speaking of food, this traditional Thanksgiving picture is a cornucopia, literally meaning ‘horn of plenty’ because corn means ‘horn’ as seen in unicorn (one horn), cornet (the instrument, a horn), and in the Zodiak sign Capricorn (look it up at Etymology Online). Less obviously, we see corn=horn in tricorn and corner. Is a corner like a horn?  Does the other part of cornucopia (-copia) bring any abundance-related words to mind? 

3) Native Americans: November is National American Heritage Month (resources). Related to that, note the brilliant design of the secret code, created and used with tremendous success by the Navajo Code Talkers during WWII. Browse the extensive, student-friendly museum of the Navajo Code Talkers. Help students crack a few codewords; it's logical and answers are provided. Check out the marvelous illustrations in the children's book, The Unbreakable Code.

4) Opining on homework: It's nearly Thanksgiving! Time to vacate the schools! Time for family and/or friends, feasting, festing, football, and refeasting (possibly followed by fasting). Let’s hope all students can enjoy vacation sans schoolwork. My opinion? Hyperhomeworking is counterproductive. Entire families, including parent(s), have become homeworkaphobic and/or ultracompetitive. A new film documents the problem; see trailer.   

poll by twiigs.com

Thanks, visitors! I count you as fellow philologists. Here's hoping few readers unfriend me! The New Oxford American Dictionary has named unfriend the word of the year for 2009 (ABCnews) but it’s not totally new. Fuller wrote in 1659, “I hope, Sir, that we are not mutually Unfriended by this Difference which hath happened betwixt us” (OED online). 

PS. I planned to write about context, but seasonal spirits fell upon me!